(a) Sign regulations, including provisions to control the type, design, size, location, illumination and maintenance thereof, are established in order to achieve, among others, the following purposes:
(1) To promote attractive developments and maintain high value residential districts;
(2) To provide reasonable, yet appropriate, conditions for identifying and advertising goods sold, or services rendered, in business districts by relating the size, type and design of signs to the type and size of establishments;
(3) To provide for appropriate signs for the identification and encouragement of industrial development;
(4) To control the design of signs so that their appearance will be aesthetically harmonious with their surroundings and an overall urban design for the area; and
(5) To eliminate any conflict between advertising signs and traffic control signs, which would be hazardous to the safety of the motoring public or pedestrian.
(b) In establishing these objectives the City has determined that without adequate regulation and design standards, signs are a nuisance. The number of signs in the City is excessive and is unduly distracting to motorists and pedestrians, creates a traffic hazard, and in some places reduces the effectiveness of signs needed to direct the public. As the appearance of the City is marred by the excessive number, oversized and poorly designed signs, both residential and business property values are adversely affected. Therefore, the number of such distracting signs ought to be reduced and signs permitted should comply with the standards of this chapter in order to reduce the aforementioned effects.
(1) The signs of least value to the people of the City are those which carry commercial messages other than the advertisement of any product, service, event, person, institution or business located on the premises where the sign is located; and
(2) In view of the foregoing, all signs not conforming with the provisions of this chapter are hereby declared a nuisance. It is further declared that the regulations contained in this chapter are the minimum regulation necessary to abate the nuisance and to achieve the purposes of this chapter.
(Ord. 2001-035. Passed 10-17-01.)